Kangaroo attacked and killed by dog in South Morang

There’s been a spate of horrifying dog attacks on kangaroos in Melbourne’s north, with wildlife rescuers shocked at the attitude of some owners.

There's been a rise in dog attacks on kangaroos in the City of Whittlesea. Picture: Lost animals in the City of Whittlesea Facebook page.

There’s been a spate of horrifying dog attacks on kangaroos in Melbourne’s north, with wildlife carers slamming “self-entitled” owners for allowing their pets to roam off-lead.

The City of Whittlesea Council has received several reports this month about incidents involving dogs being allowed to exercise off-lead and chasing kangaroos, including a rottweiler that allegedly chased and killed a roo in South Morang about 6pm February 2.

According to the council, a man was walking the dog down Great Eastern Way onto Findon Rd when the incident took place.

Wildlife carer Leonie Sorrentino was called out to help the female roo, but the animal had died by the time she arrived, after suffering a broken neck in the attack.

It’s believed the dog chased the roo for about 500m before attacking it several times, mauling it on the head, ears, arms and tail.

“It was quite a vicious attack on her and I can only hope that she passed quickly,” Ms Sorrentino said.

“She was only a small roo and had no chance.

“It’s a horrific way to die.”

Ms Sorrentino drove around looking for the owner and dog after the attack, but had no luck finding them.

She said people “just don’t seem to care” about kangaroos.

“They say ‘It’s just a roo,’” she said.

“But they are amazing creatures.”

She urged people who witnessed an attack to take photos and get in touch with a wildlife carer immediately.

Whittlesea wildlife volunteer Leonie Sorrentino has seen a rise in dog attacks on kangaroos.

Mernda’s Krysti Severi, who runs the Rescue Rehabilitate Release shelter, said she was forced to recently euthanise a 2kg joey after it was attacked and killed by a dog in Eden Park.

It had bite marks at the back of its head, that went through its skull, along with on its jaw and throat.

“I think the problem is a lot of people think it’s their entitlement to have their dogs off-lead

and they think ‘My dog won’t hurt anybody so I’ll allow it to roam’,” she said.

“I do think a lot of it is self-entitlement – I think there’s a lack of respect for wildlife, especially kangaroos, because of the way (they) are portrayed.

“We (carers) hear constantly ‘It’s just a f***ing kangaroo – we hear that so many times a week.

Krysti Severi is horrified by many people’s attitude towards kangaroos. Picture: Rob Leeson.

“Or ‘One less, there’s too many of them anyway’.

“It’s just insane what we hear about our native wildlife.”

Ms Severi said many people don’t understand kangaroos or respect them.

“Some people say they wreck fences – well let me put up a fence between your lounge room and kitchen – how are you going to get through?”

She said when roos were attacked by dogs, “99 per cent” of the time they had to be euthanised.

“It’s a very stressful thing for these animals to go through, it’s horrible,” she said.

Ms Severi said many of the dog attacks were happening in areas that were highly populated with new development, and wildlife were being locked into little pockets.

“Which is where people go and walk their dogs, and let their dogs off and these kangaroos have nowhere to go,” she said.

Ms Severi said the kangaroo population was decreasing, and predicted with the state government’s harvesting program, they would follow koalas and be on the endangered list in a decade.

“They’re a protected species with no protection,” she said.

City of Whittlesea chief executive office Craig Lloyd said during summer it was not uncommon to see kangaroos venturing further out into suburbia in search of food.

“Council has received reports of dogs off-lead chasing or attacking kangaroos and three reports so far this year of kangaroos being attacked, including one last week where a kangaroo was allegedly killed by a dog in South Morang,” Mr Lloyd said.

“At this stage, we have been unable to locate the owner or the dog.”

Anyone with information about the latest dog attack is urged to contact the City of Whittlesea via email [e-mail], the Lost Animals Facebook page or on 9217 2170.